Not every seat in Ruth Eckerd Hall was full Wednesday night. But the love for the Hollywood beyond-legend Dame Julie Andrews was far beyond capacity.
The 84-year old Mary Poppins star is currently on a brief tour, promoting her and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton’s new autobiography, Home Work: A Memoir Of My Hollywood Years, which is Julie’s 32nd book ever. No, she’s not signing copies in the lobby, or meeting fans, or even selling the book, or anything for that matter, at the merchandise table. She is, however, answering questions that audience members scribbled out in the lobby beforehand.
The two-hour-with-intermission book chat kicked off with a video montage of highlights from Julie’s career. And it was just about everything, from the poignant Fraulein Maria, to Thoroughly Modern Millie Delmount, leading all the way up to her most recent roles in the Despicable Me films, and 2010’s Tooth Fairy. Holding her daughter’s hand, the Dame walked out from stage right to the ecstatic squeals of theater geeks and folks who were probably born before, or around the time she became the youngest person to ever sing God Save The King for King George VI back in 1948.
In two directors chairs with a screen for magnification behind them, Julie and Emma sat side by side, Emma holding a massive stack of cards in her hands. Clearwater had no clue what kinds of stories, advice, and facts the two would throw out there. Obviously, the first question was about what Walt Disney was really like in person. Her first memory that came to mind was actually going to Disneyland with the icon himself, even riding around in one of the parades. “People were reaching out to him and trying to touch his jacket,” Julie recalled. She had already gotten off to a damn good start in terms of making a name for herself, but this was before Mary Poppins flew out of the pages, and Julie was still only known for her work on Broadway, and her acrobatic voice as a child.
Of course, one asked a question many have been wanting to know: Does she keep in touch with Dick van Dyke and Christopher Plummer. She does indeed! “They’re very different guys,” Julie explained. Apparently, between them are birthday and Christmas card exchanges. So while they probably don’t get together as much as they did onscreen, it was refreshing to learn that her two most famous male co-stars are still in the loop.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, no, Julie did not sing. But she got pretty close to doing so. She was asked if she’s ever forgotten her lines, and she said that the closest to her ever forgetting her lines onstage was when she saw some of her friends in attendance to see her perform in Putting It Together, which was a musical revue of Sondheim songs. She demonstrated one of the verses she had to speak out during the patter song Getting Married Today. “It took me forever to learn that!” she confessed.
Many of the questions fans were dying to know are answered in Home Work, so though they were, more or less, answered, one of the most used expressions of the evening was “It’s all in the book.” Most of these were family or theater related questions. But not every question was a piece of cake for Julie to come up with answers to.
Believe it or not, a ten-year-old asked her how to overcome adversity. “You just have to face it.” Julie explained after a long minute of pondering. And then, of course, there was the infamous “what was your favorite movie you’ve been in” question, to which she also had a hard time figuring out. Julie probably didn’t want to say something obvious, like Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music, so she, totally understandably, went with Thoroughly Modern Millie, which was also listed as one of her favorite musicals. Yep, someone even asked her that. West Side Story, The King And I, and even Guys And Dolls (“Really! It’s actually a fantastic show!”) made the cut.
Julie even revealed the best advice she had been given over the span of her 7-decade long career, which was obtained from her singing teacher of countless years. “She was a wonderful soprano who gave me such an excellent technique,” Julie recalled. But the advice was as follows, and should be something more people should keep in mind: The amateur works until he gets it right, the professional works until he can do no wrong. And some advice from the Dame was to never ever rank yourself. “There are hundreds of people who do your job better.”
Emma went on to reveal some of the shocking parts about Julie. “She swears like a sailor!” she revealed, which was received with roaring belly-laughs all across the theater. Julie would then swoop in to defend herself: “Those words come in handy sometimes!”
After a 20-minute intermission came yet another montage on the screen, this time with scenes from much later in her career. Scenes from The Princess Diaries were met with those shrieks from younger fans, the 90s and early 2000s kids, if you will. Also included was the English tea party segment from Julie and Carol Burnett’s 1989 special, Together Again, which kicked off the laughter in the crowd all over again.
There was a video tribute to her late husband, director Blake Edwards. As soon as his memory was honored, it was on with the questions!
Favorite animal? The sloth. Why did she write her first book? She had to pay a forfeit to her daughter for swearing too much. Julie’s bucket listers? Sitting under a tree, quite like the ones in Florida, and just reading like crazy. Oh, and a river cruise, too. Will there ever be a tour with Carol Burnett? They still love each other very much. (Carol is Emma’s godmother. “Aww,” the crowd reacted. “You didn’t know that?!” Julie replied.) But probably not, since they need permission to perform certain songs from every single person involved with them, many of which have since passed away.
Will there be a Princess Diaries III? (Insert millennial screams) Though Anne Hathaway just had another child, her and Julie are both totally down for it, so we shall see.
What should one keep in mind during their first performance in a play? Enjoy it, but remember that it’s not all about you. And the last question, which may or may not have been staged: (I actually don’t know) Our nanny of five years just gave her notice, is Mary available?
“There are plenty of Mary Poppinses out there!” Julie reassured everyone.
That’s good to know, but how many Julie Andrewses are there?
Right.
Josh Bradley Live 